Venerable medical journal spawns AI-focused offspring
The 211-year-old New England Journal of Medicine has birthed NEJM AI, an online-only monthly that will take on “some of the most pressing questions in medicine through the application of AI in the clinic.”
The quote is from NEJM AI’s inaugural editor-in-chief, Isaac Kohane, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School.
NEJM AI quietly appeared last December with the launch of a podcast, “NEJM AI Grand Rounds.”
In the March 17 announcement of Kohane’s editorial appointment, Harvard Medical School notes the new journal, like the podcast, is a product of NEJM Group, a division of the Massachusetts Medical Society.
Kohane tells HMS the field of AI ...
has reached a crucial inflection point. Medicine can reap tremendous benefits from advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence, as long as these advances are harnessed in an evidence-based, informed, safe and ethical manner.”
The announcement also quotes the dean of Harvard Medical School, George Daley, MD, PhD.
“There is an urgent need for a sophisticated understanding of the myriad applications of artificial intelligence in healthcare broadly and in clinical encounters specifically,” Daley says. “This transformation must start with a rigorous assessment of AI’s promise and limitations in research and clinical care.”
The new journal’s website presents an introductory note stating NEJM AI will cut across medical disciplines to inform and connect a broad swath of healthcare AI stakeholders.
The page says the journal will cover the application of AI methodologies and data science to biomedical informatics, connected health, telemedicine, medical images and imaging, personalized medicine, policy and regulation, and the ethical and medicolegal implications of AI.
NEJM AI also plans to host virtual events beginning with a free, two-hour webinar on the value distribution of clinical AI slated for April 27.
The New England Journal of Medicine began publishing in 1812, likely making it the oldest medical journal in the U.S.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.